Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States of America.
R&D Center, Hankook tire and technology Co., Ltd, Daejeon 34127, Republic of Korea.
Nanotechnology. 2023 Mar 24;34(24). doi: 10.1088/1361-6528/acba1b.
The mechanical properties of polymer nanocomposites can be improved by incorporating various types of nanofillers. The hybridization of nanofillers through covalent linkages between nanofillers with different dimensions and morphology can further increase the properties of nanocomposites. In this work, aramid nanofibers (ANFs) are modified using chlorinated cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and functionalized with 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane to improve the chemical and mechanical interaction in an epoxy matrix. The integration of CNC functionalized ANFs (fACs) in the epoxy matrix simultaneously improves Young's modulus, tensile strength, fracture properties, and viscoelastic properties. The test results show that 1.5 wt% fAC reinforced epoxy nanocomposites improve Young's modulus and tensile strength by 15.1% and 10.1%, respectively, and also exhibit 2.5 times higher fracture toughness compared to the reference epoxy resin. Moreover, the glass transition temperature and storage modulus are found to increase when fACs are incorporated. Thus, this study demonstrates that the enhanced chemical and mechanical interaction by the CNC functionalization on the ANFs can further improve the static and dynamic mechanical properties of polymer nanocomposites.
聚合物纳米复合材料的力学性能可以通过加入各种类型的纳米填料来提高。通过将不同尺寸和形态的纳米填料之间进行共价键合的纳米填料杂交，可以进一步提高纳米复合材料的性能。在这项工作中，芳纶纳米纤维（ANFs）用氯化纤维素纳米晶（CNCs）进行改性，并通过 3-缩水甘油丙基三甲氧基硅烷进行功能化，以改善环氧树脂基体中的化学和机械相互作用。在环氧树脂基体中集成 CNC 功能化的 ANFs（fACs）可同时提高杨氏模量、拉伸强度、断裂性能和粘弹性。实验结果表明，与参考环氧树脂相比，质量分数为 1.5%的 fAC 增强型环氧树脂纳米复合材料的杨氏模量和拉伸强度分别提高了 15.1%和 10.1%，断裂韧性也提高了 2.5 倍。此外，当加入 fAC 时，玻璃化转变温度和储能模量也有所增加。因此，本研究表明，通过 CNC 对 ANFs 的功能化，可以进一步提高聚合物纳米复合材料的静态和动态力学性能。
